“Fire on the Mountain”

Description from Cotopaxi Chickie Sue: Nothing like getting a phone call at 9 pm telling you there's a fire on the mountain - especially when you have the neighborhood fire truck. Neighbors thought it was a lightning strike - turns out it was another drunk neighbor burning a green tree bonfire - it was smoking all the way down the valley. Thankfully, it was a false alarm - but we might not be so lucky next time. Be careful this weekend, especially if you are out camping!

What was really spooky is that I had just left LB to post a message on our neighborhood website, since we have a lot of part time summer folks up here and, when they are from places other than the DESERT southwest, they have big bonfires…and they don’t realize how quickly a fire can get out of control…Chicky Cat, remember the Hayden Fire a couple of years back?

OH BUMMER!!! So sorry to have missed it – i was probably fumbling around in the dark when it came up! I must say, i’m glad it was a controlled (reasonably) fire, cuz it would have been miserable trying to fight it in the dark!

Well, don’t feel too bad about the BGBM, Sue. I don’t think it shows the exact same 9 items to everyone at the same time. Elaine/Belly Chick and I were talking one day this week and she told me to look at the BGBM because of something that was listed. I looked immediately and it wasn’t there, but it was in her’s. Hmmmmmm Very interesting, don’t you think? Chicky Babe and I talked about that once, too.

Well, usually I get a lot of feldspath that I don’t really care for. Then I begin to think they’re trying to get rid of all the “yucky”; stones on me. And then, something FABULOUS comes along. Do you think the best stones come up while we’re asleep? Something to ponder, at least.

Sometimes I wonder, Debra! When I can’t sleep, I’ll come to the computer and check the LB site and the BGBM. Sometimes in the middle of the night there will be great stuff, whereas during the daylight hours it’s just blah stuff — free peach pits, for example. ROTFLOL

Speaking of free peach pits, the last time they were offered, I “ordered” some. When they arrived, not only did they send me my free strand, they threw in three more! ROTFLOL I could start my own peach tree orchard!!!

HI!!! Looks like the fun is here – Sue, I’m SO glad the fire was a false alarm! Crazy stoopid people… We have fools that like to start prairie fires when it’s hot & windy in August & September. Scares the bajeebers out of me!

A French rose. I won’t touch an American one…WAY too sweet. I like a nice tart European rose. Excellent for summer sipping. Went to the package store this evening and found my favorite French rose on sale for $3.98 a bottle. Usually it’s $10 a bottle. Needless to say, I bought 4 bottles and didn’t even use a $20 all up.

I’m gonna have to hit the sack in a few minutes. Just love summer, though!!!!!! I like to stay up LATE and I HATE getting up at 6:00. I don’t sleep really late in the summer, just til 8:00 or 8:30. HEAVENLY!!!!

I remember being in Colorado & seeing smoke coming off the mountains – just horrible to think of the waste.

Yes, we live next to a state park, that is mostly native grasses. About 15 years ago someone was going around starting small fires that quickly turned into big ones.

The park started to burn, we could see it from the upstairs window. We had to leave town for a very sad funeral. A very good friend of my husband had died in a small plane crash (he was piloting, and getting re-certified) and his wife was due to have their first baby literally the next day. As frightening as it was to leave the house to possibly burn, we knew that this wasn’t anywhere near the worst that could happen.

Luckily, they got the fire stopped about 1/4 mile from our house. And our friend’s widow had a beautiful baby girl, and sang Amazing Grace at the service.

That whole story is one of the most amazing events in my life. My poor husband was working the control tower at the time, and got the call. He had to go & tell the wife what happened. I’ve never seen him so shocked. And I just remember the calm we had leaving that night. And the awe when his wife sang, after just giving birth a few days earlier. I was a wreck, and she was this picture of peace & trust.

Sorry i took so long to respond – after catching Bob up on tonight’s events, I needed to post the info on our neighborhood website.

Lori, what a tragic tale – and to have to leave your house, not knowing if it would be there when you got back. Tragedy, and rebirth…we live our lives one day at a time, and hope we’re good enough..sorry, rough night….

Lori, I truly can’t imagine what that must have been like for you to leave your home and not know if it would still be there when you returned, and yet, you say you felt calm, maybe knowing that what was important in life had made it out safely and was with you.

Lori, I guess you could say Bob is a volunteer firefighter – we actually own the firetruck, pic attached. he doesn’t have a lot of formal training, and I have virtually none – guess this was a wake up call to get the team re-trained and mobilized. We would never be able to put out a forest fire – they move too quickly up here, and jump from tree to tree, so you’re fighting at a height as well as at the base – not a good situation. And the firetruck only carries 500 gallons of water – it’s a temporary stop, at best. The valley’s fire department has never guaranteed that they would come up here if there was a call – and even if they did, it would take them a minimum of 2 hours to get here. Living on the edge…

Bob was at a meeting about 30 miles from here when the call came in – and I totally forgot my training. Lucky, one of our other neighbors came by who still remembered his! No, we didn’t put out the bonfire, but we had called the sheriff and he went up after us to have a little chat…

There’s only one main way out of here – the other routes are all rough 4-wheel drive roads. don’t like doing them during the day, much less at night!

As you know, no one expects a fire – and you are never prepared when there is one.

I’m happy that the fire was contained quickly Sue, and that you had a home to come back to Lori. It’s a lovely pick.

The closest fire to my home was a grass fire in the field across from our house when I was a kid, fortunately the fire station is just at the end of our road, and they got there very, very quickly, it was a kid shooting off rockets that started it. We don’t get alot of forest fires here in NH, we have had alot of arsons though the last couple of years. In the northern-most part of the state one town had 8 arson fires in three months two years ago.

Town fires are certainly the worst, Christine, cuz you know there will be property loss and loss of lives. They are usually controlled within 24 hours, though. Here, trees burn and smoulder for days, even months. last year, there was a fire in a remote area, which i could see from my deck. Firefighters couldn’t reach it, either from the air or land. Since it was remote, they did nothing but monitor it. it burned for 3 months, until we got a big snowfall.

O how awful Dizzy Chick!!
That must have been So scary Chicky Sue!!
Last year (before the snow and during the dry time!) some people were looking into renting the house behind me (I think). Anyway there were about 4 collage age/ 20 something boys checking out the backyard when someone of them had the brilliant idea to start a fire with the plethora of dry pine needles that had dropped from the big trees Under one of those big trees!! You know how dry needles burn! The blaze was Tall and licked at the branches which had been trimmed up high! I was afraid that it would not only take the tree and spread to the next and next but spread all long the ground on the dry needles. Someone had already called the fire department and they came over and talked to the boys who, to their credit, were very respectful and put out the bonfire immediately. But how stupid!! They hadn’t thought and it could have been disastrous!! Thank GOD didn’t spread and no one was hurt!!! Miraculously!! O, and they didn’t rent the house. A family did.